It has happened before, it just happened again and it will happen in the future. It is inevitable! Some company that needs to get some press coverage or public visibility will release yet another statement on how worthless Anti-Virus is, based on its own dysfunctional test. For this “test”, they used the VirusTotal service. VirusTotal

The methodology and categories used in performance testing of anti-malware products and their impact on the computer remains a contentious area. While there’s plenty of information, some of it actually useful, on detection testing, there is very little on performance testing. Yet, while the issues are different, sound performance testing is at least as challenging, in its own way, as detection testing. Performance testing based on assumptions that ‘one size [or methodology] fits all’, or that reflects an incomplete understanding of the technicalities of performance evaluation, can be as misleading as a badly-implemented detection test.

We came across an interesting test report at http://www.passmark.com/ftp/antivirus_10-performance-testing-ed2.pdf. Symantec commissioned a comparative performance test from Passmark. That is, a test measuring performance in terms of speed and resource usage rather than looking at detection rates. Not surprisingly, Symantec came out very well overall, and deserves congratulations for demonstrating how far it's gone in addressing